Butterflies

Neohipparchia statilinus (Insecta: Lepidoptera: Papilionidae; common name: Tree grayling)

This seemingly colourless butterfly will nicely surprise you when it opens its wings to fly. Red edges, a broad white band and the black background make an eye-catching combination. I waited for it to land somewhere and then carefully approached to take this shot. The batteries of my flash unit were drained so I had to use a smaller aperture to get a higher speed since the flash wasn't there to freeze the subject. In the end, this worked for this picture since the flash would probably create many shadows on the butterfly's sings because of the grass.   

Photo by George J. Reclos

Shooting Data:

Camera: Nikon D2X
Lens: Tamron SP AF 180mm f/3.5 Di Macro 1:1
Sensitivity: ISO 100
Shutter speed - aperture: 1/320 sec - f/7.1, Aperture priority mode
Flash: SB-800 in i-TTL mode
Image: JPEG edited in Photoshop CS2, levels adjusted, USM added and resized.  

Limenitis reducta (Family: Nymphalidae; common name: Southern White Admiral)

Shot at Lake Volvi, Thessaloniki, Greece, this butterfly is one of the most beautiful I have seen in our country. Shooting butterflies is a hit or miss case since they don't sit still for long while their flight is completely unpredictable. This one gave a clear sight (as clear as it can be anyway) for 2-3 seconds.
 
Photos by George J. Reclos
 
Shooting Data:

Camera: Nikon D2X
Lens: Tamron SP AF 180mm f/3.5 Di Macro 1:1
Sensitivity: ISO200
Shutter speed: 1/250, f13 Aperture priority
Flash:SB800 in i-TTL
Image: JPEG edited in Photoshop CS2, levels adjusted, Smart sharpening added and resized. Some of the pictures taken at the Evros Delta and Dadia forest are oversharpened intentionally, to make the main subject more "visible".

Melanargia larissa (Balkan Marbled White butterfly)

When I saw this butterfly I knew I had to come up with a descent photo of it. However, since the only lens I had with me was the 180 mm Tamron macro and a couple of wide-angles, I also knew that I was in trouble. The Tamron is an excellent lens with unrivalled sharpness and contrast but when it comes to quick focusing, it is definitely not a stellar lens - despite the D2X which is supposed to focus faster. I really missed my 80-200 mm Nikkor zoom which is a champion in this field but still I didn't want to lose this opportunity since I hadn't seen this butterfly elsewhere. It seemed that the butterfly decided to give me a hard time because it decided to keep on flying (with the well known erratic flight pattern) and not sit still. I spent almost 20 minutes walking alongside, jumping over rocks, till it decided to land on a plant. I focused manually and took two shots in rapid success which - naturally - turned out almost identical.

Photo by George J. Reclos

Shooting Data:
 
Camera: Nikon D2X
Lens: Tamron SP AF 180mm f/3.5 Di Macro 1:1
Sensitivity: ISO 100
Shutter speed - aperture: 1/250 sec, f/8 Aperture priority mode
Flash: SB-800 in i-TTL mode
Image: JPEG edited in Photoshop CS2, levels adjusted, smart sharpening added and resized.